So, you want to be a citizen?

Aside from residency and other requirements, prospective naturalized citizens must pass an oral test as part of the process of becoming Americans.

An examiner asks 10 questions from a list of about 100 possibilities. To pass, an applicant must score six of 10. Applicants who are 65 and older and have been a legal resident of the United States for 20 years or more receive a shorter list of potential questions from which to study.

About 90% pass on the first try, and 95% in one or two tries.

Here are 15 examples of what might be asked during the examination, all of which would be also included in the truncated selection of questions for those 65 or older and have been in in the country legally for 20 years. (answers are at the bottom).

1. Who is one of your state’s U.S. senators?
2. What is the economic system of the United States?
3. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
4. In what month do we elect a president?
5. What is the capital of your state?
6. How old do citizens need to be to vote for president?
7. What is the last day you can send in federal tax forms?
8. Who was the first president?
9. Name one important accomplishment of President Abraham Lincoln.
10. Name a war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
11. Name one accomplishment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
12. What is the capital of the United States?
13. Where is the Statue of Liberty?
14. Why does the American Flag have 50 stars?
15. When do we celebrate Independence Day?